Soldered condenser

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a soldered condenser for a motor vehicle air conditioning unit, comprising a pipe/rib block, collector pipes which are arranged on both sides thereof and receive the ends of the pipes, and a collector which is arranged parallel to one of the collector pipes, fluidically connected to the adjacent collector pipe via two openings and receives a dryer/filter cartridge. The collector ( 1 ) is provided with a first soldered sealing part ( 5 ) to which the dryer/filter cartridge is mechanically connected. A second sealing part ( 6 ) is nondetachably connected to the collector ( 1, 4 ).

The invention relates to a soldered condenser according to the preambleof patent claim 1, as has been disclosed by EP 0 867 670 A2.

In the known condenser, after the soldering process the dryer/filtercartridge is moved into the collector, positioned there and thecollector is then closed in a pressure-tight fashion by a screwedconnection. Since the dryer/filter cartridge is not subjected to thehigh temperatures of the soldering process, it is constructed fromplastic and connected to the closure lid by a clip connection, and as aresult the dryer/filter cartridge can, on the one hand, be mountedtogether with the closure lid, but, in the case of a repair orservicing, it can also be replaced together with the closure lid.

The design and the function of such a condenser are described moreprecisely in DE-A 42 38 853.

In the course of the development of such a soldered coolant condenser,EP-A 1 079 186 has already proposed a nonreplaceable dryer cartridgewhich is arranged in a collector which at the end side in each case isclosed off by a soldered-in or welded-in cover, i.e. with anonreleasable connection. Such a dryer can therefore not be replacedwithout disruption. A disadvantage with this known dryer which is notreplaceable is that it is not secured in the collector but rather canmake movements within the collector. This leads to undesired abrasionand noises.

The object of the present invention is to improve a condenser of thetype mentioned at the beginning to the effect that it can bemanufactured easily and cost-effectively and its function is notadversely affected, in particular with respect to drying and filtering.

The means of achieving this object with respect to the condenser of thegeneric type results from the features of patent claim 1. The advantageof this combination of features for a dryer/filter cartridge whichcannot be replaced is that, firstly, an inexpensive plastic housing canbe used for the dryer/filter cartridge, that the pipe for the collectorcan be manufactured from a simple semifinished pipe without additionalprocessing, and that the dryer/filter cartridge is securely positionedand attached in the collector so that its satisfactory function isensured for the drying of the coolant and the filtering.

Further advantageous refinements of the invention emerge from thesubclaims. Here, the attachment of the dryer/filter cartridge by meansof a clip connection at the bottom is advantageous in that a firstmetallic part of this clip connection, an armature part, is alreadypresent in finished form by virtue of the soldering process of thecondenser. The dryer/filter cartridge which is manufactured from plasticand is provided with latching elements which are formed integrally onthe bottom by injection molding merely has to be pushed into thecollector pipe and clipped to the bottom. This results in simple anduncomplicated mounting which in turn reduces the manufacturing costs.After the dryer/filter cartridge has been mounted and attached in thecollector, the latter is closed by inserting and soldering the coverplate, for example by soft-soldering. However, the closing process canalso be carried out by means of a different nondetachable materiallyjoined connection, for example welding or bonding, calking or flanging.

In a further refinement of the invention, a method is advantageous whichincludes cost-effective mounting and the manufacture by oven-soldering,clipping and closing the container in three successive method steps.This method also contributes to reducing the manufacturing costs.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawingand will be described in more detail below. In said drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a collector for a coolant condenser, and

FIGS. 2, 2 a show a detail of the collector in the bottom region.

FIG. 1 shows a collector 1 for a coolant condenser (not illustrated)according to the prior art, for example in accordance with DE-A 42 38853. Such condensers are referred to as the condenser module because thecollector is structurally integrated into the condenser, i.e. it isarranged in parallel with one of the two collector pipes and isconnected to it in a coolant connection. The collector 1 therefore has acoolant inflow opening 2 and a coolant outflow opening 3. Via these twoopenings, the collector is therefore connected at the coolant end to acollector pipe (not illustrated) of a condenser. The collector 1 iscomposed of an aluminum pipe 4 which is matched in terms of its wallthickness and strength to the operating pressure of the condenser. Thepipe 4 is closed at the ends by a disk 5 at the bottom and a disk 6 atthe upper end. In the interior of the pipe 4 there is a dryer/filtercartridge 7 which is composed of a cage-like plastic housing 8 and holdsin it a dryer granulate (not illustrated). The cage-like plastic housing8 forms an enclosed space which is closed off at the bottom by a bottompart 9 and at the top by a clipped-in lid 10, but is open to the outsidethrough slit-like openings 11. An annular gap 12 is left between thehousing 8 and the pipe 4. The plastic cage 8 has, in its upper region, acircumferential bead-like thickened portion 13, and in its bottomregion, i.e. below the outflow opening 3, a similar annular bead 14,which thickened portion 13 and annular bead 14 are both in contact withthe inner wall of the pipe 4. This ensures that the plastic cage 8 isoriented in the housing 4. In the region between the two openings 2 and3, a circumferential sealing lip 15 is integrally formed on the plastichousing 8 by injection molding, said sealing lip 15 causing the plastichousing 8 to be sealed with respect to the inner wall of the pipe 4.From the level of the sealing lip 15 as far as the bottom region 9, theplastic housing 8 is surrounded (or lined) with a fine mesh sieve 16 inorder to trap impurities in the form of extremely small particles in thehousing 8. This sieve 16 therefore functions as a filter.

A detail, designated by X, in the bottom region of the collector 1 isillustrated in FIG. 2 and shows in particular the attachment of thedryer/filter cartridge 7 to the bottom plate 5. The bottom plate 5 issoldered into the pipe 4, i.e. it forms a materially joined,nondetachable connection to the pipe 4 at the circumference. In thecenter region, the bottom plate 5 has an approximately rectangular slit17 which can be seen as such also in FIG. 2 a. An armature part 19 isinserted and soldered so as to fit into this slot 17 by a plug-in part18 with the same cross section. This armature part 19 is, as is shown bydashed lines in FIG. 2 a, a planar sheet metal part and has twohook-like projections 20, 21 lying diametrically opposite one another. Asprung circumferential latching element 22 which protrudes downward isintegrally formed onto the plastic housing 8 by injection molding belowthe bottom part 9. The projections 20, 21 have oblique faces 24, 25 ontheir upper sides. The armature part 19 is already soldered, togetherwith the base plate 5, to the collector when the condenser leaves theoven after soldering. The pipe 4 is then specifically still open at thetop, i.e. the plate 6 is not yet soldered in, in contrast to theillustration in FIG. 1. The complete dryer/filter cartridge 7, that isto say with the granulate and filter sieve 16 filled in, is theninserted into the pipe 4 through this opening until the bottom end ofthe sprung latching element 22 slides onto the oblique faces 24 and 25and is thus spread apart. The dryer/ filter cartridge 7 is then pressedfurther downward in the direction of the bottom plate 5 until thelatching element 22 clicks inward and engages behind the hook-shapedprojections 20 and 21 in a positively locking fashion. The dryer/filtercartridge 7 then rests with its bottom part 9 on the armature part 19and is secured, by the latching element 22, against moving in thedirection of the longitudinal axis of the pipe 4. The armature part 19and latching element 22 thus form a clip connection.

After the dryer/filter cartridge 7 has been securely positioned in thepipe 4 by this clip connection, the disk 6 is inserted into the pipe 4and soldered or nondetachably connected to the pipe 4 in apressure-tight fashion in some other way. The condenser is then in thefinished mounted state.

1. A soldered condenser for a motor vehicle air-conditioning systemhaving a pipe/ribbed block and collector pipes which are arranged onboth sides and which receive the ends of the pipes, and a collectorwhich is arranged in parallel with one of the collector pipes and whichis fluidically connected to the adjacent collector pipe via two openingsand receives a dryer/filter cartridge, characterized in that thecollector (1) has a first soldered-in closure part (5), in that thedryer/filter cartridge (7) is mechanically connected to the firstclosure part (5), and in that the second closure part (6) isnondetachably connected to the collector (1, 4).
 2. The condenser asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the dryer/filter cartridge (7)is attached to the bottom-side closure part (5).
 3. (Currently amended)The condenser as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that thedryer/filter cartridge (7) is connected to the closure part (5) via aclip connection (19, 22).
 4. The condenser as claimed in claim 3,characterized in that the clip connection has at least one armature (19)which is soldered into the closure part (5) and behind which a sprunglatching element (22) of the dryer/filter cartridge (7, 8) engages. 5.The condenser as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that thedryer/filter cartridge (7) is composed of a plastic cage (8) with abottom part (9) on which the latching element (22) is integrally formed.6. The condenser as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that thedryer/filter cartridge (7, 8) has a circumferential sealing lip (15) inthe region between the openings (2, 3).
 7. The condenser as claimed inclaim 6, characterized in that a sieve (16) is arranged on the plasticcage (8) on the circumference in the region below the sealing lip (15).8. The condenser as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a gap (12)is left between the dryer/filter cartridge (7, 8) and the inner wall ofthe collector (4), said gap (12) being spanned partially by a bead-likespacer element (13, 14).
 9. A method for manufacturing a condenser asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the condenser is firstsoldered to the pipe/ribbed block, collector pipes, collector and onlyone closure part (5) in an oven, in that the premounted dryer/filtercartridge (7) is then moved into the collector (1, 4) through the openend side and is attached to the closure part (5), and in that thecollector (4) is finally nondetachably closed by means of the secondclosure element (6).